Just thinking about how Lumine still refused to give up on her husband made Keqing angry.
She had warned Ryou several times already, but what if Lumine tried to tempt him?
At a time like this, she couldn't stop her thoughts from running wild.
The image of the two of them being all intimate in the office flashed through Keqing's mind, and her mood soured at once.
She glared at the office door, grinding her teeth, almost tempted to kick it open.
While Keqing was stewing over it, someone called out from behind her. "Keqing-sama, they've missed the check-in deadline."
"These are the records. Please take a look."
"All right," Keqing said.
She took the documents and glanced over them, clearly distracted.
After another look at the office door, she forced herself to focus on the files instead.
She was guarding the door anyway. If she heard anything suspicious, she would charge straight in.
If Lumine dared to do anything, Keqing definitely wouldn't let her off lightly.
Just thinking about Lumine made Keqing furious. The very first time Lumine came to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, she had asked whether Ryou had someone he liked.
Keqing had been so mad back then.
Ryou had already married her, and Lumine still had the nerve to ask whether he had someone he liked?
Later, Keqing had even seen Lumine's whole face turn red. The two of them had not interacted much after that, but recently, their exchanges had started warming up again.
And twice now, when Keqing had gotten into an argument with Lumine, Ryou had punished both of them equally.
Those scenes were embarrassing to even think about, but the more Keqing thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
If Ryou treated her and Lumine the same way, didn't that mean he was treating Lumine like one of his own women too?
The thought alone made her angry!
Keqing gathered her thoughts and lowered her head to read the files. The issue was the authenticity of the wine.
In other words, there was something wrong with the liquor. But when Keqing saw the details, she was stunned. The report showed that the wine was only ten percent actual alcohol.
One part wine, nine parts water.
Were they seriously selling this as wine?
The more Keqing read, the angrier she became. As she kept flipping through the pages, she found that all kinds of shops had obvious problems.
Compared with Degui's family, though, their cases were at least not as outrageous.
"I'd heard before that Degui's family went too far, but I never imagined they could be this rotten!" Keqing snapped, her anger flaring.
"That is… true," Zhongli said with a nod.
"Keqing, when Ryou brought those people back, he also paraded them through the streets. Liyue Harbor is talking about it quite heavily now."
"Should we find a way to suppress the discussion?" Zhongli asked, looking at Keqing.
"Why suppress it? Handle it exactly like this." Keqing glanced at Zhongli and said, "I've already arrested his backer. Once this mess is sorted out, we'll deal with it properly."
"Oh, right… Zhongli-san, did my husband mention before that he wanted to recommend you as one of the Liyue Qixing?"
"Cough, yes. He did mention it," Zhongli said, coughing lightly.
As soon as he said that, he noticed quite a few people around them looking over. He could even hear them whispering.
Huixin said, "Zhongli-san is going to become one of the Liyue Qixing?"
"Hiss! That's amazing!"
"Zhongli-san is a good person with excellent character. I don't think there would be any problem with him becoming one of the Liyue Qixing!"
Keqing heard the Ministry staff discussing it and gave a soft laugh. "Zhongli-san, see? Everyone approves of you."
"Once we get to the bottom of this matter, I don't think that man will be able to keep his seat. When the time comes, you should take over."
"I'll strongly recommend you to the higher-ups. You may be a little young, but your ability in every area is outstanding. You're more than qualified for promotion," Keqing said lightly.
Keqing knew very well that Zhongli was a rare talent. With his abilities, perhaps he really could make Liyue Harbor better.
Besides, under Ryou's subtle influence, Keqing's feelings toward Zhongli's true identity had gradually faded.
Now, she simply treated Zhongli as an ordinary person. Once she looked at it that way, a lot of things felt much more natural.
And the thought of Rex Lapis becoming one of the Liyue Qixing was honestly funny. If word got out, no one would believe it.
Instead of properly enjoying his role as Rex Lapis, he ran off to become one of the Liyue Qixing?
Hearing Keqing say that gave Zhongli a headache. He felt there really was a reason Ryou and Keqing had ended up together.
Ryou had already pushed hard before, recommending him to the Tianquan as a candidate for the new Qixing seat.
And now Keqing was doing it too?
What was this supposed to be?
He was supposed to be retiring, yet Ryou had dragged him into working at the Ministry of Civil Affairs. For the sake of Ryou's rewards, Zhongli had agreed.
Besides, he actually found working at the Ministry rather pleasant. Each day, he only needed to handle a few official matters and make a few records.
Drinking adeptal tea in his free time and going out to eat, drink, and enjoy himself with a few colleagues was not bad either.
Before this, he had not even carried Mora on him. Now, he could hardly believe he had one hundred and fifty thousand Mora in his possession.
This change was deeply strange to Zhongli, but he had slowly grown used to it.
He liked his current life. He felt less like a god and more like an ordinary person.
But he truly did not want to become one of the Liyue Qixing.
"There is no need to bring this up again. I am not suited for the role," Zhongli said.
"When my husband and I were away from Liyue Harbor, you handled everything. And nothing went wrong."
"That proves everyone trusts you and is willing to follow your arrangements."
"Your ability is definitely not lacking. I believe in you!" Keqing reasoned with him, trying her best to persuade him.
She wanted Zhongli to become one of the Liyue Qixing if possible. She believed it would absolutely benefit Liyue Harbor.
And Keqing was telling the truth. Although everyone at the Ministry of Civil Affairs listened to her instructions, she still needed someone under her to arrange the actual work. Zhongli was perfect for that position, and everyone trusted him.
Just as Zhongli was about to speak, Huixin stood up and said, "Keqing-sama, I also think Zhongli-san is very suitable to become one of the Liyue Qixing."
"Take the Ministry's daily paperwork, for example. A lot of it is complicated and messy, and we need quite a bit of time to sort through all the little details."
"But Zhongli-san only needs a few glances to know how to handle it. None of us can compare to him in that regard."
"And recently, we've also handled a number of official matters from Yujing Terrace. Those are even more complicated, but he still deals with them quickly and easily."
Keqing saw that many people approved of Zhongli and smiled.
"Yes, exactly!" Huixin said.
"Didn't my husband say not to let you handle those?" Keqing asked.
Huixin exchanged looks with the others before saying, "This… we couldn't refuse. Ningguang-sama personally came to give the order."
"She said Ryou had agreed. At the time, both of you had already left, so we…"
"Ningguang, that woman!" Keqing clenched her fists.
She knew Ningguang had definitely taken advantage of her and Ryou's absence to dump a good amount of work onto the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
When Keqing thought about how Ryou had suddenly agreed to let Ningguang sell lottery tickets in Liyue Harbor, she felt something was off.
Unfortunately, when she had asked Ryou about it back then, his explanation had sounded perfectly reasonable. He had even spent several hours convincing her.
Afterward, she had slowly let the matter go, because Keqing trusted that Ryou was not that kind of man.
As for Ningguang, Keqing did not trust her nearly as much. That woman was far too feminine and charming. Her qipao was incredibly alluring, and even Keqing had found her stunning at first glance.
Keqing looked toward the office, feeling gloomy. At first, she had already accepted Ryou and had planned to slowly help him become better.
But she never expected Ryou to become far more outstanding than her.
Now she felt that being too outstanding was not necessarily a good thing.
Keqing had thought about it carefully. Outside, there was Ningguang, Lumine, Shenhe, and even other women in Liyue who looked at her husband the wrong way.
They were not women at all. They were vixens.
Every single one of them looked like they wanted to devour her husband.
Keqing put the file down and said, "Zhongli, I'll think of a way to handle the Liyue Qixing matter. You don't need to worry."
"As for what comes next, question the man from earlier. I suspect he has ties to Degui. Find out as much as you can."
"Is that… really all right?" Zhongli asked.
"I don't see why not!" Ryou's father said as he walked in from outside.
Keqing was a little surprised to see him. "Father, what brings you here?"
"Keqing, I heard Ganyu mention this matter when I came down just now, so I came to take a look," Ryou's father said.
"What's the point of keeping rotten apples like that around?"
"The Ministry of Civil Affairs is responsible for handling these things. If you start tiptoeing just because he has some status, wouldn't that be absurd?"
"If there really is something hidden behind this, then investigate it thoroughly!"
Ryou's father glanced at the others and said, "I heard what Keqing said just now."
"Zhongli, my boy also recommended you to me before. He wanted you to take over Uncle Tian's position."
"Look at you. You're still young… This is exactly the age when a man should build a career and start a family."
"If you can become one of the Liyue Qixing, that position will give you real standing for your future family," Ryou's father said earnestly.
"A man's career and family are the most important things. I heard from my boy that he wants to help you find someone."
"Maybe you don't fancy the people he mentioned. That's fine. I can introduce you to some well-bred young women."
"I can introduce Ningguang to you!" Keqing said, struck by sudden inspiration.
Ryou's father froze for a moment and looked at Keqing.
Keqing said seriously, "Ningguang admires you. She's mentioned you more than once. When it comes to work, I can put in a good word for you right away."
"You two would make a perfect match. Both you and Ningguang are exceptionally talented. I believe you would definitely get along!"
"Zhongli, there's no need to refuse this. I'll handle it for you," Keqing said.
She knew Ningguang still had not given up on her husband, so she might as well go with the flow.
Since her father-in-law had brought up the subject, she could push Ningguang toward Zhongli. Wouldn't that remove one rival from the field?
Besides, hadn't Ningguang always longed for Rex Lapis? If she got Zhongli, who was Rex Lapis, that was a win for her too. Everyone benefited!
This was a win all around!
Keqing would not only help with this; she would help all the way until their wedding night!
[End of chapter]
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